Genre: Mystery
“Hi, this is Ellen and Helge’s answerphone. Please leave a message.”
Thus starts the most devastating, heartbreaking, powerful, and brilliant, ten pages in a book that I have EVER read.
“The Redbreast” is the third Harry Hole novel and follows the lives of several people (in addition to Harry) spanning the time from World War II and the Norwegian resistance and collaboration on the Russian front with the Germans to the years 1999 and 2000 when the soldiers were in their 70’s.
Harry and his partner, Ellen, are assigned protection duty along the route for the President of the United States. They spot a suspicious person in a toll booth. With the President’s motorcade a few seconds away, Harry must make a decision to either trust that the person in the booth is secret service or is a threat.
Harry shoots him.
Hailed a hero (for political purposes) Harry is re-assigned to the POT Division (from the Crime Squad) where his skills can be “better utilized”.
In POT, Harry involves himself in a case where a person has purchased, via the black market, a very powerful sniper rifle and is on a killing spree.
The victims are mostly related (old with ties to WWII) and Harry being the way he is doggedly pursues every lead……even if chasing those leads jeopardize his life.
In a separate, but related, plot line, Harry meets Rakel Fauke and her young son, Oleg.
Will Harry solve the murders? Will Harry and Rakel hook up? To find out, you will have to read this absolutely brilliant, complex, book.
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